COVID-19-related social isolation and symptoms of depression and anxiety in young men in Poland: Does insomnia mediate the relationship?

The need for physical distancing due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts forced prolonged social isolation, which may affect sleep and lead to mental health problems. Previous research has shown that young adults are particularly vulnerable to psychological stress caused by social isolation, the negative psychological impact of the pandemic, and greater frequency and severity of sleep problems. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to examine whether insomnia could constitute a mediation mechanism that explains the relationship between social isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health outcomes (depression and anxiety) reported up to 1.

Maternal High-Fat diet During Pregnancy and Lactation Disrupts NMDA Receptor Expression and Spatial Memory in the Offspring.

The problem of an unbalanced diet, overly rich in fats, affects a significant proportion of the population, including women of childbearing age. Negative metabolic and endocrine outcomes for offspring associated with maternal high-fat diet during pregnancy and/or lactation are well documented in the literature. In this paper, we present our findings on the little-studied effects of this diet on NMDA receptors and cognitive functions in offspring.

Maternal high-sugar diet results in NMDA receptors abnormalities and cognitive impairment in rat offspring.

Cognitive impairment affects patients suffering from various neuropsychiatric diseases, which are often accompanied by changes in the glutamatergic system. Epidemiological studies indicate that predispositions to the development of neuropsychiatric diseases may be programmed prenatally. Mother's improper diet during pregnancy and lactation may cause fetal abnormalities and, consequently, predispose to diseases in childhood and even adulthood.

Cocaine use disorder: A look at metabotropic glutamate receptors and glutamate transporters.

Glutamate transmission is an important mediator of the development of substance use disorders, particularly with regard to relapse. The present review summarizes the changes in glutamate levels in the reward system (the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, dorsal striatum, hippocampus, and ventral tegmental area) observed in preclinical studies at different stages of cocaine exposure and withdrawal as well as after reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior. We also summarize changes in the glutamate transporters xCT and GLT-1 and metabotropic glutamate receptors mGlu2/3, mGlu1, and mGlu5 based on preclinical and clinical studies with an emphasis on their role in cocaine-seeking.

Changes in the glutamate biomarker expression in rats vulnerable or resistant to the rewarding effects of cocaine and their reversal by ceftriaxone.

Literature data show diverse vulnerability to the rewarding effects of cocaine in human as well as in laboratory animals. The molecular mechanisms of these differences have not been discovered yet. While the initial effects of cocaine depend primarily on the dopamine system, numerous studies have shown that adaptation within the glutamatergic system is responsible for the development of addiction.

Cocaine-Induced Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking Provokes Changes in the Endocannabinoid and -Acylethanolamine Levels in Rat Brain Structures.

There is strong support for the role of the endocannabinoid system and the noncannabinoid lipid signaling molecules, -acylethanolamines (NAEs), in cocaine reward and withdrawal. In the latest study, we investigated the changes in the levels of the above molecules and expression of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) in several brain regions during cocaine-induced reinstatement in rats. By using intravenous cocaine self-administration and extinction procedures linked with yoked triad controls, we found that a priming dose of cocaine (10 mg/kg, i.

Development, validation and application of a micro-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry based method for simultaneous quantification of selected protein biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction in murine plasma.

The objective of this study was to develop and validate the method based on micro-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (microLC/MS-MRM) for simultaneous determination of adiponectin (ADN), von Willebrand factor (vWF), soluble form of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), soluble form of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1) and syndecan-1 (SDC-1) in mouse plasma. The calibration range was established from 2.5pmol/mL to 5000pmol/mL for ADN; 5pmol/mL to 5000pmol/mL for vWF; 0.